High School Uses YubiKey to Login Securely to Google Apps

STOCKHOLM and PALO ALTO, Calif., June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — By using cloud technology from Google, online identity provider Svensk e-identitet and strong authentication company Yubico, Swedish schools are making significant cost savings while protecting the online identity for staff and students.

As more e-services move to the cloud, so do fraudsters. Online identity theft is today the fastest growing crime with more than a trillion US dollars in yearly losses. To address this problem, the Swedish Data Inspection Board requires all Swedish local e-governments and schools to move from username and password login to strong two-factor authentication.

Arlandagymnasiet, a high school in Sweden, is one of many schools who have successfully deployed secure cloud login solutions. The school’s IT department has chosen Google cloud services to simplify and save IT infrastructure costs. To enable single-sign on to Google and other IT systems, Svensk e-identitet provides the cloud based identity service. Of the strong two-factor authentication technologies evaluated and available for Swedish citizens under the age of 18, Arlandagymnasiet found the USB key YubiKey from Yubico was the best fit.

The YubiKey simplifies the process of logging in with a One-Time Password (OTP) token, as it does not require the user to re-type long pass codes from a display device into the login field of the computer. The YubiKey is inserted in the USB port of any computer and the OTP is generated and automatically entered with a simple touch of a button on the YubiKey, without the need for any client software or drivers. The rugged, ultra-thin, battery-free, crush safe and waterproof design has also been fundamental to the success of the YubiKey, currently used by over a million users globally.

“We are very pleased with the combined Svensk e-identitet and Yubico solution. We have made significant cost savings, eliminated all administration using Google’s services, while providing superior online identity protection of our staff and students,” said Torbjorn Lundstrom, IT administrator at Arlandagymnasiet.

The technology used for connecting Svensk e-identitet to Google is SAML. It is the leading open identity standard for secure e-services, used by education and leading Internet services and proposed to be deployed for the vast range of e-government services in Sweden during 2012.